The reports show that complaints provide valuable insight into what matters most to residents, helping us identify where we can do better and where service improvements are needed. Throughout 2025/26, residents played an active role in reviewing our compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code, helping to ensure that our policies, procedures and complaint handling approach reflect their lived experience.

This year, we achieved full compliance with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and continued to strengthen our approach to learning from complaints. The report demonstrates a strong commitment to learning, transparency and accountability. During 2025/26, South Lakes Housing responded to 100% of both Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints within the Housing Ombudsman’s required timescales, exceeding our performance targets and ensuring residents received timely responses. We handled 91 Stage 1 complaints and 19 Stage 2 complaints, while reducing the number of complaints requiring escalation.

The feedback received through these complaints is helping shape service improvements – examples include improvements to repairs services, contractor management, communication, insurance claims support, resident engagement opportunities and the accessibility of our correspondence. 

The reports highlight repairs, contractor performance and communication as the issues that most frequently affect residents’ experience of our services. These areas are already the focus of significant improvement activity across the organisation as we work to deliver high-quality homes and services.

Alongside our complaints reporting, we have published our annual self-assessment against the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards. This sets out how we are meeting the standards relating to safety, quality, transparency, influence, tenancy and neighbourhood management, while identifying areas where we will continue to strengthen performance. The assessment reflects our commitment to openness, accountability and continuous improvement, with residents playing an important role in helping us understand whether we are getting things right.

The publication of these reports is particularly important as the social housing sector faces increasing scrutiny and expectations. By being transparent about our performance, sharing what residents have told us and demonstrating the actions we are taking in response, we are showing how resident feedback sits at the heart of service improvement.

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their feedback, raise concerns, complete surveys, participate in consultations or become involved in resident groups and scrutiny activities. Your voice helps us improve.